Alpha and Omega: Family Vacation
by DariaAlpha
Summary: Based on the new A&O movie coming out next year, this shows what I'm hoping will happen in it. Kate and Humphrey's pups are growing up and it is hard for them to accept that their children will be finding mates. So they decide to take them on a vacation of sorts. But what if an encounter with an old enemy threatens to ruin their vacation and their lives?
1. Prologue

**Author's note:** Instead of writing another horror-themed story or continuing old ideas (such as that Balto/A&O crossover story) right now, I am going to write this to show what I'm hoping will happen (to an extent) in _Alpha and Omega 5: Family Vacation_, which is set to be released in the spring of 2015. I will be keeping the tone that we know from the first two and the fourth. It will be dark and have some adult humor, but it's not going to be any more than what we have in the movies. Though the adult humor will be low, compared to the movies as well. My fanfic will be kind of a mix of the first two and fourth A&O movies, in terms of what content can be expected in this.

For right now, I intend for the story to be kept a K+ rating, but I don't intend for it to go over a T rating, if it even does go THAT far. It may end at a K+ rating, for all I know. It will feature characters from all of the sequels (Princess and some other rogues from A Fleet, Nars, and Magril from A Daria, Lois, Floyd, and maybe Freida/Fran from A&O4) since my biggest complain of the sequels is how they haven't brought any of the likable A&O2 or A&O3 characters back yet. I'm sure we'll see Daria in A&O5 (the movie) but I'd like to see more of Princess, King, the rogues, Fleet, Magril, and Nars in it as well (such as how they'll all be in this fanfic).

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

It was wintertime in Jasper Park, Canada, and snow was all over the landscape. But snow and cold weather such as this was not something that kept the wolves in their dens, especially the puppies and adolescents from the three different packs.

"Don't go too far from the den, pups," a beautiful female wolf called as her three children ran out of the den. While they could no longer be called pups or puppies—they were almost into their adolescent stage of life—it was now habit of their parents to call them that. It saddened yet pleased the two parents at the same time, to see that their pups were growing up. Soon, they would be old enough to leave their parents' den and begin their search for mates to start families of their own with.

"Mom!" the youngest complained. He was the only Omega out of the litter of three. His name was Runt. Appropriately so, as he was literally a runt, being a wolf who was smaller than average and the smallest in a litter at the same time. But, despite his size, Runt had the most attitude of the three—he was the most stubborn of them all. He had a dark gray coat of fur, even darker than that of his father. "We're just going to play in the snow is all!"

"Live a little, Mom!" the oldest said. Her name was Claudette. She was an Alpha and the largest of her three siblings, in addition to being older than both of her brothers. Claudette could also be the most argumentative one. She had a yellow-orange coat of fur, similar to her mother, except it was a slightly brighter hue.

"Can't our parents ever accept that we're growing up?" Stinky complained to his siblings in a whisper. An Alpha like Claudette, Stinky was the middle child. He had a gray coat of fur, but it was lighter than that of his father. His fur was more silvery than it was gray. Stinky was also a bit sarcastic, as was Runt, but he could be bitterly sarcastic at times. And that side of him showed more than it did in his little brother. "They acted just like this when we explored Shadow Forest and only because it had been haunted!"

Shadow Forest was a once dark forest, hence its name, located near the border of the united Eastern and Western Packs' Territory. It had once been haunted with the ghost of a wolf, later learned to be the mother of a blind Omega called Daria, who had been driven from her pack only because of her disability. Daria's mother was killed, but she had survived thanks to a porcupine called Floyd, as well as the other critters who lived in the forest, including two gossipy porcupine twins called Freida and Fran. When Kate, the mother of the three pups, had take Daria to find her pack and meet her mother, they had learned from Lois (Daria's sister) that she had never made it back to the pack. And that the rules of the pack were the same. A battle had ensued with the Alpha male of the pack at Rabbit Poo Mountain, with two of his Alphas. Kate and her husband Humphrey had protected Daria, as Runt had led her deeper into the forest. But the head wolf, for his real name was unknown, had gone after them. Daria would have been killed if it had not been for Runt yelling "Daria is in trouble!" to draw her mother's ghost out and take the head wolf away. No one had seen that wolf sense and they assumed he was taken to a dark place where he could no longer hurt Daria. Kate and Humphrey, as the pack leaders, had accepted her into their pack, as an Omega only so she would not be required to go on hunts like Alphas and Betas were. A blind wolf would not last on a hunt and her being an Omega was for her own good. It was something she had agreed with immediately, knowing that her hunting would be a bad idea.

"Let them play in the snow, Kate," the male said. He was an Omega called Humphrey. The mother of the couple was an Alpha called Kate. Together, they were the leaders of the united Eastern and Western Wolf Packs. "They never had the chance to last year because of King's pack of rogues. Besides, when did harm ever come from playing in the snow?" he added good-naturedly.

Humphrey was referring to how, the winter before, former Eastern Wolves, ones who had gone rogue, had taken Runt from his parents. King, the Alpha male of the pack, formerly known as Slash before going rogue, had intended to use Runt as bait to draw all of the Eastern and Western Alphas from Jasper, to Banff, so his Alphas could conquer the combined territory of the Eastern and Western Packs. King and his mate Queen had intended to add that to their own territory in Banff, even if they were well over a hundred miles apart. However, there had been one wolf whom King and Queen had not expected to ruin their plans. Princess, formerly known as Terra before going rogue, had disagreed with her parents for kidding a wolf pup. She had taken Runt away from where King had ordered him to be kept, while Humphrey had distracted her father and the other rogues. But one rogue had spotted her, alerted King, and they both almost died in the battle that had followed. But Princess and King both survived, and she had returned to Banff with the intention of only learning whether he was dead or not. But she was captured per her mother's orders and no one in Jasper had her from her since.

"Well…" Kate began almost sarcastically.

"Kate," Humphrey laughed. "Let them be themselves this winter. It will be their first one not having to deal with the rogues."

"You're right," Kate agreed. "And let's join them." She then kicked up a bunch of snow into Humphrey's face before laughing at her mate good-naturedly. They always play fought and taunted each other in ways like this, as it was common among wolves to have fun in this way when it was required to be serious. Such as on a hunt or defending territory.

"I've always say that you're an Omega at heart, Kate," Humphrey told her, almost laughing, as he shook the show out of his fur.

"And I've always said that you're an Alpha at heart, Humphrey," Kate countered, with the same good-natured tone. "Daria knows that very well, after what you and I did for her months ago," she added in a slightly more serious voice.

As Kate and Humphrey went to play in the snow with their growing up pups, none of the wolves knew what sort of adventures would be in story for their pack next spring.


	2. Spring Time

**Chapter 1:**

**Spring Time**

Spring had arrived and so had the adolescence of many of the young wolves in Jasper. And spring not only brought the adolescence of those young wolves but also the fertility of the female wolves. Springtime was when the most females were able to conceive puppies from their mates.

Claudette was among the females in the park who was in heat. That fact was only just hitting Kate, who was almost losing it over the fact that her oldest child could be getting harried and starting a family of her own anytime now. Claudette was of age to find a husband and conceive puppies now. And Kate just knew that her daughter would choose Fleet as a husband. She had nothing against Fleet and actually supported their love for each other, but no mother could accept the fact that her children were growing up. At least not right away.

Fleet was a former member of the Northern Wolf Pack who had left, with his little sister Magril, to be with Claudette. Everyone knew that Fleet was her true love, and vice versa. It was clear that Claudette and Fleet had fallen in love when they had met and competed against each other in the special event known as The Great Wolf Games when they were only puppies. Nars, Fleet and Magril's father, had not approved of this bond between his only son and Claudette. Nars had once only cared so much about a family member winning the games that he had not show much emotion when Magril was hurt. She had sprained her paw after crashing into a rock and Nars had not shown a minute amount of concern for his only daughter. Nars had only cared about a relative winning the games. And he had believed that Fleet was all he needed to achieve his goal. But Fleet had been the target of his father's abuse as well, when Nars had threatened to strike him only for flirting with Claudette hen he had been supposed to be practicing for the games instead. But Nars had stopped himself from striking his son, not being able to bring himself to do it when he had gone to.

Nars had later realized what he had done wrong, after Claudette and Fleet had competed in the games, only to end in a tie. He had come to terms with his pups and apologized to them both for his cruel treatment of them. That moment in Nars' life was the first and only time he would ever shed tears. He had felt as if he had failed his only pups by threatening them so cruelly. He had later admitted to all of the then pups, their parents and grandparents the real reason for his behavior. It was not because he had been angry over losing in the games against Kate, when they had been puppies, but due to how he had disappointed his father then. Nars had not wanted his two pups to feel as if they had failed him like he had felt with his father. He had lied to them due to how ashamed he had been over losing due to tripping up at the final moments of the race. He would have won instead of Kate if he had not. Everyone knew that, even Kate.

It was also his late wife. Nars was a widower, meaning that his wife had passed away. Nars had pushed Fleet and Magril so hard because he had also wanted them to honor the memory of Christine. The memory of their late mother, his late wife. Nars had wanted Fleet and Magril not because he had not done so at their age. That had never been Nars' concern, nor had it been his father's intention. Nars had wanted his pups to honor the memory of their late mother and not disappoint their father like he had his, but had almost ruined their lives and lost the respect of all he had left (to remind him of his late wife) instead. Magril had even been afraid of her father to the point of never speaking beyond a whisper, whether he was there to hear her speak or not.

But things were much different now. Both Fleet and Magril were on good terms with their father. Magril was no longer afraid of Nars and she no longer spoke in whispers due to soceraphobia, a fear of one's parents. She was an entirely different wolf now, in terms of her behavior. In addition to that, Nars was much more acceptive of his son's love for Claudette. Nars was excited for the moment his son would finally announce that he would announcing that he'd be giving his father grandchildren. Fleet had talked with his father many times about how he could ask Claudette to marry him, so Nars was excited for that moment as well. It was now wolf mating season and instinct told Nars that Claudette was mature enough to produce puppies. And instinct also told Nars that Claudette was in heat, meaning that she could conceive puppies as well. Nars hoped that his son would be proposing to Claudette soon. Now would be the best time for Fleet to do so, as it was the only time of year they would be able to have Claudette get pregnant. And it would also be the perfect time as they would be attending their first Moonlight Howl tonight.

As Nars enjoyed the first day of spring with his children, and the children of Kate and Humphrey, he was thinking about if Fleet would finally propose to Claudette. Something, maybe a gut feeling, told Nars that Fleet wanted to ask his first and only true love to marry him. But would Fleet be able to muster the courage to do so now, while it was possible for Claudette to conceive puppies? Fleet was old enough to create puppies as well and Nars hoped he would take the chance with a fertile Claudette, when the time was right.

Fleet's heart and pulse were racing. He had always loved Claudette, first as a friend and maybe a little more when they had been puppies, but he now had a different feeling around her now. It happened whenever he was around Claudette now. He had no idea why he had this new feeling whenever he was around Claudette. Fleet had not felt it when they had been around each other during the winter. Fleet also had no idea that Claudette was in heat and she did not know it either. That was the reason for their different feelings, even if they had never heard the term heat before. At least not when it came to physical changes in a wolf's body. They only knew it when it came to temperature and what they felt when they were near fire.

Fleet, after what felt like an eternity, but was only no more than five or ten minutes, finally mustered the courage to approach Claudette. He intended to ask her what he had talked with his father about for several weeks before the first official day of spring.

"Claudette," he said in a shaky voice. "There's something I've wanted to tell you."

Everyone around them stopped talking about whatever they had been so they could watch what might happen between the two lovers. Kate, Humphrey, and Nars were obviously among them as it was their children who could be finding spouses for life.

"Yes?" Claudette asked. She was anxious to hear what Fleet had to say, yet nervous at the same time. She had no solid idea about what her love was going to ask her, yet she had a feeling in her gut as to what it was. She would wait and see if her gut feeling was right.

"C-Claudette, w-will go to the Moonlight Howl w-with me t-tonight?" Fleet asked in a voice that was shaking even more now, than it had been before. His voice had never shaken this much in his life. Not even when he had confronted his father once. He had shown the bravery of a full-grown wolf then and he had only been a puppy. But now, he was more nervous than he ever had been. Claudette, Stinky, and Runt had not been this nervous with all the encounters they had had with grizzly bears as puppies. "And…" Fleet was beginning to sweat due to how nervous he was in this moment, "…w-will you m-marry me?"

"Oh, Fleet," Claudette cried happily. "Of course I will!" Then she embraced Fleet in a hug as she took up his scent, smelling and licking him as all wolves did to show that they would accept someone as their spouse for life. He did the same after Claudette was done and that meant they would be together forever. They were mates and there was nothing in the world that could change that now.

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><p>That night at The Howling Rock, the newlywed couple of Claudette and Fleet did not go to the part of the mountain where wolves went to howl. They intended to howl alone in a box canyon before they went to spend the night howling with their friends and siblings. They also wanted to talk about how they would handle raising puppies if they did agree on starting a family soon, like Nars hoped they would, while it was a perfect chance for them to start a family of their own. They had always loved each other, but starting a family would make it even more forever than marrying did.<p>

Claudette playfully laughed as Fleet tackled her in a playful way. Wolves always play fought when they had time for fun. Usually when they did not have to worry about more serious tasks and responsibilities that the Alphas (such as Claudette and Fleet) and Betas were unexpected to do. They rarely had time to play fight like the Omegas and the puppies did. As soon as they became adolescents, they were expected to behave like the adults of their generation. That was really when wolves began growing up, not when their parents felt as if their puppies were.

Claudette giggled as she crawled backwards, still on her back due to being tackled in their act of play fighting. They knew that they would have more responsibilities soon. And more than just puppies, if they did decide on starting a family. They were Alphas, so they would be expected to be the most responsible wolves in the pack. Their time for fun and play would be ending soon, whether they started a family or not.

She laughed at him. She said something to mock her new husband, with a wag of her tail. Claudette batted her eyelashes as the newlywed wolves looked at each other with loving eyes. They were in more love now than they ever had been.

"Uh, huh," Fleet replied to her taunting words, something he had never expected her to say. He had expected her to be more proper. And that was all he could say in response to them. He was lost for words as he had never seen Claudette acting like this before. He had always assumed she was a more serious wolf, despite her stubborn attitude when it came to how her parents treated her and her brothers treating her like puppies still.

"Well, let's get on with the howling, then, Fleet!" Claudette said. "But first…" Then tackled Fleet into the nearby grass, which was all around the area near The Howling Rock, as they laughed happily about finally being married. "Payback, dear," she mocked him. "That's for tackling me, ha-ha!"

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> I'll tell ya, it wasn't easy keeping this chapter K+, I'm so used to writing T or M-rated stories, haha. But I did it. It does feel like something out of the movies so far.


	3. True Love for the Blind Omega

**Chapter 2:**

**True Love for the Blind Omega**

Daria. She was the former southern pack wolf who was exiled from her birthplace for being born blind. Her mother was killed in Shadow Forest for defending her and she was raised by a male porcupine called Floyd, whom she lived in her den with. She had no mate yet, although she had thoughts about Runt. She questioned if she was the tiniest bit in love with Runt, who had done so much for her when he had been just a pup. Not only had Runt helped her find the pack she had come from, and her younger sister Lois, he had basically saved her life by yelling "Daria is in trouble!" when the former alpha male of her pack, now deceased, had been chasing her through Shadow Forest. The ghost that had once haunted the forest, the ghost of her late mother, had intervened and took the head wolf (for no one knew his real name) away before he had had the chance to hurt Daria.

She had been accepted into the western pack, as an omega for her own safety due to her blindness, and was now living the happy life she wished she had been able to from the start. Lois was a member of the western pack now, as was her younger brother. They had left the southern pack because, even with the head wolf gone, it was still a horrible place to live. In fact, it was worse now without a leader than it had been with one. Lois and her brother wanted nothing more to do with the part of the southern pack that lived at Rabbit Poo Mountain. There were not many decent wolves there, so they would not miss any of them. All that mattered to them was that they could finally live in peace Daria, their older sister whom they had only just begun getting to know very recently.

"Yahooooooooo!" Daria howled as the log slide down the hill. She was sandwiched between Humphrey and Runt, as the three Omegas log-boarded. They had decided to show Daria what it was really like to be an Omega, when they did not have to deal with their responsibilities. Humphrey was the Alpha male now, but that did not mean he had no time for fun anymore. "I wish the two of you had talked me into doing this sooner!" Daria told them.

Runt has his front legs wrapped around Daria's waste, as she did with Humphrey, only so she felt more secure. Being blind, it was not easy for Daria to know if someone was still in front of or behind her. But still, this was the most fun Daria had ever had in her life!

"Go left," Runt said. There was a small boulder in their path, which they easily avoided by shifting their weight in the log to the left, causing it to move that way. The log would have busted apart and sent the three wolves flying through the air if they had not avoided it. Only because they had Daria with them, neither Humphrey nor Runt wanted that to happen. Daria may have the physical build of an Alpha, being larger than both Humphrey and Runt, but she was still a sensitive wolf who had not put her bulk and muscle to good use like many other Alpha or Beta wolves do on a daily basis.

"Oh, this is so fun!" Daria was laughing loudly as the log sped down the mossy hillside, gaining speed as it went further down the hill. She still remembered how, when they had begun log boarding not too far away from The Howling Rock, that she had been afraid to take part. But Daria was glad that she had, as she was having the time of her life right now. Nothing could ruin this fun now, she thought. "Remember me to come with you two boys whenever you go log boarding!" she yelled over the whistle of the wind. "I don't ever want to miss out on this again. It's better than those fermented berries Reba and Janice showed me!"

Reba and Janice were two omega wolves with a vegetarian diet. They had quickly befriended Daria, as had the omegas Candy and Sweets, and shown her to a patch of fermented berries. Needless to say, due to Daria eating a good amount of the berries, she had found herself almost unable to speak for a few hours after that adventure.

"And you didn't share any of the fermented berries with me?" Runt asked her jokingly, with a laugh.

"You're too young for such things," Daria laughed back.

"Uh, Runt, Daria," Humphrey said suddenly. "Help me go to the...RIGHT!" He screamed suddenly, as did Runt and Daria, when the log board crashed into a rock. Humphrey and Runt went off to the sides, but Daria, she went sailing over the boulder and through the air, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Daria!" Runt howled.

A few wolves who were play fighting in the field saw Daria go sailing over them, only a few feet from where she had gotten launched into the air, and just stared.

One of them was a beta wolf called Claws and her good friend Scar, also a beta. "Is it just me or did a wolf go flying over us?" she asked Scar.

"You're not seeing things," he replied. "I think it was Daria."

"Daria?" Claws asked. "What was she doing? Log boarding?"

"Yes!" Runt said as he and Humphrey showed up. "We crashed into a boulder and she went into the air." Then they ran off before Claws or Scar could say anymore. They had to be there when she came back down to the ground or she could get hurt. They already knew how they would help her.

Nars was wandering about in the field as well. Because his pups, Fleet and Magril, had joined the Western Pack, Nars had become a member of the pack as well. He hoped that he would find a mate like Fleet just had. He missed Christine so much ever since she had passed away so suddenly and he was so lonely ever since then. Fleet and Magril did not have as much to do with him ever since they had really begun growing up. Fleet was entirely focused on his new wife, Claudette, and Magril was entirely focused on trying to woo Runt into marrying her.

Nars stopped moving when he swore he heard a whistling sound, as if something was falling through the air above him, and a female screaming. He looked all around him, saw nothing, and then above him just as she came back to Earth. He yelped with shock when someone landed on top of him, not harshly or gently, but enough to scare Nars. The other wolf yelped as well, as she collided with Nars.

Nars lifted her tail up off of his face, blinked a few times, and laid there for a few minutes before either of them regained their senses. When he did, he saw a she-wolf whom he had never seen before. She had a light gray fur and was beautiful, but he did not care about her looks or fur color now. Where did she come from and why did she crash into him like that?

"What are you doing, crashing into me like that?" Nars asked harshly. "Can't you watch where you're going, whoever you are?"

Daria began to cry. No one had ever talked to her like that, since she had joined the western pack. But Nars, he did not seem to care all that much. "Well?" he asked her in the same harsh tone.

"Enough, Nars," he heard a stronger female voice said. He turned to see Kate coming toward him. "Can't you tell that Daria is blind? Just look at her eyes."

"Blind?" Nars gulped. He felt immediately regret for what he said. Knowing that this female was blind, and the "Daria" he had heard so much about, made him feel like a fool for what he said. "I didn't know…" he said to Daria, as Humphrey and Runt arrived.

Daria looked at Nars. Even if she could not see his face, she sensed the sincerity in his words and accepted Nars' apology. She and Nars had never met, so she was not angry with him for his mistake. That aside, Daria was not a wolf who was easily angered. The only time she had been angry was when she had confronted the head wolf months earlier.

Nars looked back at Daria and when he looked into her eyes, he forgot that every other wolf was there. She had a light yellow film over her irises and pupils, but Nars still thought that Daria was the most beautiful female he had ever seen since his late wife Christine. The feeling Nars had now was one of love. He had literally just seen Daria for the first time and was already in love with her. So in love that the other wolves were almost invisible to him. He only saw Daria now and could say that he was blind like her. Blind to everyone but Daria. He did not even hear them talking to him. Daria and Nars stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Daria was trying to imagine in her mind how handsome this Nars could look. She wished she could de-blind herself long enough just to see his face once. She would be happy forever.

Daria imagined herself "melting" if she saw this possibility handsome wolf's face. Melting referred to collapse in a heap with love over another wolf. Such as melting someone's heart. She felt in her heart that, if she saw Nars, that she would immediately fall in love with him. If she had not already, that is. However, it was also a good thing that Daria could not see what Nars looked look. He was almost a younger-looking head wolf. There was the risk of her being reminded of the wolf who took her mother away.

Nars' tongue was hanging out, he was in so much awe of Daria's beauty. It had been years since he had seen a female who made him feel like he was in love. Not since he had last seen Christine alive. That was when Fleet and Magril were only puppies, just after they had grown out of their nursing phase of life. He could sense that Daria loved him, too, just by the way she was staring back into his eyes, even if she could not see them. It was love at first sight for Nars and love at first touch for Daria, as her feelings had been when she had crashed into him.

"Nars!" Kate said loudly. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Nars said, as he had not heard a word his Alpha female had said. "I think I'm in love…" He said that with his eyes locked on the blind female who was still standing before him. "Come along, Daria," he said to her, not even acknowledging the group of wolves who were around the two of them.

Kate just stared at Humphrey. Neither of them had ever seen a wolf, especially one like Nars, act this way when he or she was in love. They knew of his past and never would have expected him to act like this, being the widower he was. They were happy for both Daria and Nars, but neither of them had expected Nars to possibly find another mate after losing Christine to her illness.

"I hope things go well for both of them," Runt said. "Daria needs some companionship in life, and I feel that she and Nars will get along well for the rest of their lives."


	4. Humphrey's Idea

**Chapter 3:**

**Humphrey's Idea**

It was the day after Humphrey had taken Runt and Daria log boarding, and Daria had seemingly fallen in love with Nars, when he got an idea that would help both him and Kate bond with their children more. It was still hard for the first-time parents to accept that Runt, Claudette, and Stinky were starting to truly grow up. Claudette had married Fleet and could be with puppies, and Stinky had just married a southern pack alpha called Mica, after going through a rough time because of her father Griffin and her mother Banja. She was also possibly expecting puppies.

But Runt, he had yet to notice Magril's subtle hints of being in love with him. She had been trying day-in and day-out to make Runt love her, but he just did not realize what all of her actions and words meant. He thought she was just playing with him. But the truth that Magril did not realize was that Runt did not have the same romantic feelings for her that she had for him. Runt loved Magril as a friend and that was about it. There was only one female he had his eyes set on, but he knew marrying her was impossible. Princess, the rogue wolf from Banff who had saved his life during his puppy days. Banff was over a hundred miles away from Jasper, so marrying her was impossible for that reason. Her father was another reason. King would never allow Princess to marry a wolf who was not part of their pack, let alone an outsider who was also an omega. An omega from King's rival pack, the one whom his daughter had risked her life for just to betray her father. King would never accept Runt as his daughter's mate, even if he were an alpha instead of an omega.

Kate and Humphrey were lamenting the thought about their pups moving out soon when Humphrey got an idea about how to bond with their pups. He was telling that idea to Kate now, as she tried to hold back tears that were a mix of joyful and sad tears.

"Hey, I have a great idea," he said to her suddenly. His words gained Kate's attention immediately and she just listened. "How about a family trip?"

"You mean go somewhere?" Kate asked.

"Exactly." Humphrey nodded. "Wouldn't it be great to leave Jasper and head to a nice place without having someone's life in danger?"

Humphrey was sure that, after having their first winter with their pups ruined by the rogues taking Runt and the fall after being much more exciting than they had wanted because of the head wolf, a vacation would be what all of them needed. And he was sure that a vacation would also bring him and Kate closer to their growing up pups, even if some of them were married or would be soon.

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><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>I would like to thank Kyuubi99 for helping me think of a way to finish this chapter, even if it's short (I had intended that weeks ago). I hate writer's block...


	5. Daria Learns a Dark Truth

**Chapter 4:**

**Daria Learns a Dark Truth**

Daria was expecting pups. Instinct told the blind wolf that. And Nars was the father. No one knew of this yet. Not even her new sister Lois or her new husband Nars. She would tell them later, as it was rather soon for her to announce that she was expecting pups. It could be a false instinct and she did not want to get the hopes of those close to her up only to crush them. She would give it a few weeks before she told Runt, Nars, Lois, or anyone else who would want to hear this news.

Daria was also just returning from relaxing in the hot spring near The Howling Rock, which was also located near her and Nars' den, and thinking about what it would be like to become a mother, finally. Most wolves would have become a mother by now, but because of what happened early in her life, Daria had not been able to find a husband and produce pups with him until she had joined the western pack. But she had not found someone who she loved until she met Nars a few weeks earlier. There was only one thing that Daria felt bad about when it came to this. Her mother and her father would not get to see their grandpups. Her mother, as everyone already knew, had been killed by the alpha male of her pack, and her mother had passed away from natural causes not long before she had been reunited with Lois, her sister and only surviving sibling.

Daria was looking for Nars, as she had not seen him yet today, even if she had been within hearing range of their den. He usually left after she woke up to go see his children, Fleet and Magril, whom he was still trying to fix their relationship with after how he had treated them during their first time competing in The Great Wolf Games as pups. That was something she was perfectly fine with, for obvious reasons.

Her blindness was not something Daria let stop her from getting around the western territory on her own. She relied entirely on her senses of smell, hearing, and touch to get around without help, and she did it perfectly. If the other wolves did not look at her eyes or already know Daria, they would think she was not blind with the way she traversed throughout Jasper on a daily basis with no help at all.

Daria's hearing was more powerful than that of any other wolf was and she heard what sounded like a small group of wolves talking behind some bushes. So she went over to those bushes and stuck in her in to listen in better. She could not see it, but instinct that prevented her from getting hurt told her there was a ledge there, so she stopped at the edge of the bush. She wanted to stay out of sight, even if no one in the united pack would hurt her.

The first voice she heard was a female, a rougher one. That told Daria this was Claws, the only female in the pack who had a rougher voice.

"Does Daria know?" Daria heard Claws ask the group.

"Know what?" a male asked. It was Scar, Claws' husband and long-time hunting partner.

"About Nars' past," a female called Robyn said. She was a beta like Claws, her older sister. "Does she know who is father is?"

"You mean the father Nars mentioned when he lost it a year-and-a-half ago during Fleet's training for the games?" a male beta called Hutch asked.

"No," Claws said. "His real father."

"Excuse me?" a smaller beta called Candu said.

"The father you heard of from Nars isn't his natural father," Claws explained. "Nars came from the park of the southern pack located at Rabbit Poo Mountain originally. And his father…"

"What?" Scar asked her hesitantly.

"His father is the head wolf," Claws said in a shaky voice. She almost feared that Daria would hear this from her and not Nars instead. If only these wolves were aware of how Daria had heard all of their short conversation from the bushes above the small box canyon. "Haven't you realized how similar Nars' face is to the head wolf? You can tell they're father and son."

_W-What?_ Daria thought. She could not believe it. She did not want to. She loved Nars with all her heart, so to hear that he was the son of the wolf who murdered her mother was a shock. But it was just gossip among the beta wolves in the back and she knew from talking to Lois that it was not wise to believe gossip, no matter what. She could only believe Claws' shocking statement if she heard it from Nars himself and not some gossiping wolves.

_But it can't be true_, Daria thought as she backed out of the bushes unnoticed. _Nars is nothing like him…he would never hurt anyone like he did. They cannot be father and son. I won't believe it until I hear it from Nars, not these wolves._

Daria stood up and ran in the opposite direction, almost ready to cry. She had a bad feeling in her gut about how it could possibly be true, even if she did not want it to be. The thought of it hurt Daria and if it were true, she would probably feel her heart break. But she had to known if it was true or not, no matter what Nars told her.

_Just don't tell me it's true, Nars_, she thought as she ran for their den. _Please don't tell me it's true…_


	6. Princess' Dilemma

**Chapter 5:**

**Princess' Dilemma**

The rogues had come all this way from Banff to near Jasper, around a ninety-mile journey, when it had begun storming. They still had another eleven miles to travel until they reached Jasper and now they were stuck in a cave because of a rainstorm.

Princess was with them but not because she wanted to be. She just wanted to keep her pack's trust, now more than ever. She had done everything possible to regain their first, in the past year-and-a-half since she had betrayed them all to save Runt's life. She wanted to keep that regained trust because she had done it to go on this trip to Jasper with her pack. She intended to betray her pack again as soon as they got to Jasper by warning the wolves there of the attack to come. Her parents intended once again to take control of Jasper.

"Listen to me carefully, daughter," King was saying to Princess. "The wolves in Jasper trust you greatly for what you did, so you will be the one to distract them with your false story long enough for all of us to take over the eastern and western territory. You are to distract Kate and Humphrey—only they will be able to ruin our plan. They can't alert the other wolves of danger if they are distracted. Now repeat to me what you are to do, as your mother and I instructed you for several weeks."

"Yes, father," Princess said with a false obedience. "I am to find Kate and Humphrey, and use my story about how I have fled Banff to join their pack. Just long enough for the rest of you to take over their territory."

"Good girl," King complimented his daughter, who was his only surviving pup produced between him and Queen. "You're on the verge of surely making up for what you did a year-and-a-half ago. If this all goes as planned, I will make you the alpha female of the eastern pack. Geoff will be with you, acting as an alpha male, until you find an actual husband to serve that role. Obviously, we cannot have the united pack stay united as no one can control that many wolves. Your mother and I will control the other half, the western wolves."

"What about the northern and southern packs?" Princess wondered aloud. "And the southern wolves at Rabbit Poo Mountain?"

"We won't worry about those wolves," Queen answered. "What reason would we have to take their territory from them. The northern and southern wolves haven't done anything, yet anyway, to be considered our enemy."

"Yes, mother," Princess said, once again keeping a false obedience in her tone. "I shouldn't have brought them up." Princess did not know how long she could keep up her charade of loyalty to her parents. She had been doing this for well over a year now and was starting to wonder how much longer she could keep pretending to be loyal to the pack of wolves she hated so much. She did not even want to live with these wolves, but if HER plan worked out as she hoped it would, Princess would never have to see them again.

_Hopefully for reasons more than just them giving up with trying to take over Jasper_, she thought. _I would not mind if these two passed away._

Princess knew that, without her, her parents' plans would fall apart. She would not go to Kate and Humphrey to distract them whenever they got to Jasper but to warn them of her parents' plans to take over the united pack's territory.

"And just to be safe," King finally continued, "even if we doubt you'll betray us now, with how your behavior has changed for the better in the past year-and-a-half, you are not allowed to go off alone when we get to Jasper, or even now. Now even if you have personal business to take care of—you can just go in a bush or behind a tree where we will know if you run off or not. And not even when you are distracting Kate and Humphrey." Princess did all she could not to gasp "What!" about these news.

"Melissa will be with you at all times to make sure you don't betray us again, as unlikely as that seems now," Queen finished for her mate before casting a glance at their daughter who was trying to hide her real emotions about them.

_Yes, let Melissa come with me everywhere I go,_ Princess thought, trying to contain an insulting laugh. _She is just as much against everything you wolves do as I am. Good luck getting what you want know, you old fools. You have foiled your own plans already!_

The things just took a turn for the better for Princess. She knew that Melissa had been against King and Queen for years. Or at least since they had captured Runt when he was just a defenseless pup. Things had not gone King's way then because of Princess and Melissa, and it definitely would not now.

Princess would not allow it, even if that meant making the ultimate sacrifice a second time. She was living out a second chance at life, which she had earned for giving her life for Runt when King had come after him. But her second chance at life was something she would willingly give up to stop her parents, hopefully once and for all, from taking over the eastern and western packs.

And Princess was not afraid to see Heaven for a second time.


	7. How Could You?

**Chapter 6:**

"**How Could You?"**

Nars was with Fleet and Magril, his only children, now, in the den he shared with Daria since their marriage. Since they were pups, Nars had been trying to reconcile his relationship with Fleet and Magril because of how he had once treated them.

He was telling his children the truth about why he had treated them so harshly over just a racing event that was supposed to be nothing more than friendly competition.

"I know there is no excuse for what I did to the two of you," Nars began, "but I think it is time I explained why I was so harsh with you over The Great Wolf Games a year ago."

"Didn't you already tell everyone that it was because Kate won the games and not you when you were a pup?" Magril asked her father. "That you tripped over a rock and hurt your paw like I did?" She and Fleet were both confused now because of why Nars wanted to talk with them in private.

"That isn't the full truth," Nars sighed. "I never had the courage to tell anyone what I am about to tell the two of you. It has to do with your late grandfather, my father, and what happened between the two of us after I lost to Kate in The Great Wolf Games. He had told me, 'You failed me, son, after all the effort I put into training you for the games. I'll never be able to show my face at the games again now, because of how you lost. I'm afraid I can't allow you to compete next spring, son'."

Fleet and Magril gasped but said nothing so their father could continue.

"Not long after my father passed away, the two of you were born," Nars continued, "and I didn't want either of you to go through what I did as a pup, feeling as if you failed your father if the western pack came out victorious against the northern pack again. But I saw the error of my ways not only when I saw you—Fleet—and Claudette tie in that last race. But it was also how you, my son, had reacted to not winning that had made me so proud of you in the end.

"And then there's your mother, whom you never got to know," Nars continued, almost in tears at the mentioning of his late wife. "She passed away shortly after you two were born, before your eyes and ears had even begun to function. You had to nurse from a mother in the pack had given birth to two pups who hadn't survived long after birth, unfortunately. I never told you this until now because I had wanted to wait until you were old enough to at least handle this kind of news. I had wanted you to win the games to not feel bad about failing me as I had with my father, and to honor the memory of your late mother.

"But that isn't to say I don't regret how I treated both of you, my only pups and all I have left to remember my wife by, other than memories. I look back at how I had felt little emotion about you—" Nars was now talking to Magril, his daughter. "—being hurt. And Fleet, I never should have attempted to strike you for having fun rather than practicing for the games. I cannot believe I had ever been so selfish before, all because of some competition. My father and wife wouldn't be proud of me, if they had been around to see my behavior."

"Dad," Fleet said, casting a glance into his father's eyes. "I forgive you."

"And I forgive you, too," Magril told their father as well. "We both do and we had some time again. We love you dad, and always will."

Fleet and Magril approached Nars to brush their heads against his face and front legs. But, rather unexpectedly, their new loving bond felt for their father would be short-lived. At least for now. Daria entered the den, the one she and Nars had lived in together since their marriage several weeks ago. Daria had lived here much longer, however, with her sister Lois and the porcupine known as Floyd, who had raised her from a pup.

The way Daria was panting told her new husband and children-in-law that she had been running for some time over a long distance. A long distance for Daria anyway. She had the physical build of an alpha wolf, but not the endurance. In that sense, she was more like an omega than an alpha.

"Fleet, Magril," Daria said to her children-in-law as soon as she had regained her breath. "Why don't you go off somewhere and have fun for a bit?"

"Why?" Magril asked.

"What's going on?" Fleet questioned her.

"Something has come up," Daria said, looking at them even if she was not sure if she had looked where they actually were. She never was sure if she was looking at someone when they spoke to her due to her blindness. "I need to speak with your father in private."

Fleet and Magril looked at each other nervously but they agreed to leave the den. They would go see their spouses, Claudette and Liam, or something, for now.

Daria did not say anything until instinct told her Fleet and Magril were well out of hearing range.

"How could you not tell me?" Daria asked Nars in a hurt voice.

"Excuse me?" Nars was confused.

"About your father," Daria pressed.

"You already know—" he began.

"I mean your real father!" Daria cried. Tears were streaming down the blind wolf's cheeks. "How could you not tell me that you are the son of the wolf who took my mother from Lois and me?" she asked, once again, in a hurt voice. It was impossible to not notice the pain in her words as they came out of her mouth.

"W-What do you mean?" Nars stammered. "I was raised in the northern territory, not at Rabbit Poo Mountain!" he pleaded, trying to make her not believe whatever it was she had heard.

"But you were born there," Daria sobbed. "And your father is my mother's killer! I overheard eastern and western wolves saying that you are clearly his son because you look like a younger version of him!"

"I never knew him," Nars told his expecting wife. "I don't even know what he looks like…"

"Liar!" Daria wailed. "You're lying to me, your pregnant wife, just to save your own skin! What I heard almost makes me glad I am blind. I wouldn't want to look at the face of a wolf who looks like my mother's killer!"

"I'm telling you the truth!" Nars pleaded once again. "I really am, dear…"

"Don't call me 'dear'!" Daria almost snapped. "I refuse to call the son of my mother's killer my husband. And you'll _never_ get to see MY puppies when they're born!"

"Daria!" Nars begged. "Come back! I don't even know my real father!"

"Just leave me alone!" Daria wailed as she ran through the tall grass, away from their den at the base of The Howling Rock, and back to the western territory. Back to Runt and Lois, who would surely take care of her well. Better than a wolf who was the son of her mother's killer, Daria believed.

"Come back!" Nars howled from the mouth of their den. He felt his heart aching more and more as he saw Daria run further and further away from their den where they had conceived the pups growing within her now.

"No, Nars!" Daria hollered back. Next came to the last thing she would say to him. "We're over! And I hope to never hear from you again!"


	8. Outside Jasper

**Chapter 7:**

**Outside Jasper**

Kate, Humphrey, and their pups were outside Jasper. They had left a day ago and were unaware of what had gone down between Daria and Nars in that time. While he would not admit it to anyone but Kate, Humphrey truly had no idea where he would be taking his family for this vacation. They were in a field that went around Jasper Park in all directions, heading for the east.

Humphrey had not said anything to his and Kate's children about how he had no idea where they could go for this vacation, but Runt seemed to sense that as they crossed the field.

Runt, the youngest, approached his father now. Since he had reached his adolescence, Runt had come to look more like a younger twin brother of his father rather than his son, they looked so much alike now. The same could be said about Claudette with Kate, and Stinky with his uncle Garth.

"Dad," Runt said, "do you even have a plan for where we're going?"

Humphrey laughed. "Of course I do son," he replied good-naturedly. "Kate and I, we planned this some time ago, but we had wanted to wait until the snow had stopped falling so it would be easier for us all to enjoy the vacation."

Runt was not a foolish wolf. He had shown signs of an extreme intelligence from a young age, being one of the smartest of his generation, even if he was an omega and far from being the oldest. No other wolf in all of Jasper could climb a tree as good as Runt could, let anyone even get started at doing such a thing. Not only was he probably the smartest of the new generation, Runt was probably the most unique wolf born in Jasper in years. Some believed that was due to who his father was. Humphrey was also one of the unquiet wolves born in the park, but Runt was probably even more unique than his father was.

_Mm-hmm_, Runt thought. He tried not to smile as that would make his father thing he doubted him. "Do you want to tell us where we're going, then?" he asked nonchalantly, even if he felt in his gut his parents had no real travel plans and they would just be going wherever.

Kate and Humphrey stared at each other, but they gave an answer immediately to avoid further suspicion.

"Don't you want it to be a surprise, son?" Humphrey asked him.

Runt cocked his head. "I guess," he said. Secretly, Runt could not believe that his parents were possibly lying to them about how they had planned this vacation back in the winter, before the snow had all melted away. Like his older sisters, just thinking about to the fall before when they had first met Daria made Runt doubt the truth about that what their parents claimed. Because Runt, Claudette, and Stinky had taken an interest in the once haunted Shadow Forest, Kate and Humphrey had tried to bond with their pups because of how fast they were growing up.

The now adolescent wolves believed that Kate and Humphrey had relapsed back to this because two of them had already found spouses, and Claudette with pups because of Fleet. And his parents didn't know yet that Mica could possibly be expecting pups as not even Stinky knew what instinct told Mica, and all females when they could possibly be pregnant. Mica had not even told Stinky yet as she did not know for sure whether she was expecting or not, unlike Claudette. A year ago, during the fall, Kate and Humphrey had almost obsessed over bonding with their pups because they wanted more freedom, and the three of them felt that their parents were doing the same thing now because they had or were interested in finding spouses to have pups with.

While Stinky was more neutral about it than his siblings were, he could also tell how their were overly protective of them all. Sometimes he just wanted to tell them "Let us grow up already. Your parents let you and Lilly grow up." But he knew that saying such a thing to his parents was not only extremely disrespectful but it would also lead to him being cuffed across the head by Kate. Being independent was one thing, but Stinky knew that his parents would not tolerate any level of behavior like that from their children. He decided to leave that as a thought and not say it aloud. Stinky did not like being corrected for his behavior, so he tried to behave his best even if that sometimes annoyed his siblings.

"Why couldn't we bring Fleet with us, at least?" Claudette complained. "It's going to be _so_ boring without my new husband! I'm sure Stinky agrees with me about Mica."

"I don't think Nars would agree with us taking Fleet with us on a vacation that he can't supervise his son," Kate said, looking back at her oldest son. "And Mica, I'm not sure if she would want to leave Jasper, even if she already ran away from the southern territory. You know how timid she can be."

"It's still going to be boring," Claudette muttered as the group of five took up their walking again.

But the five Jasper wolves had no idea that their family vacation would be anything but boring soon, and not because they would find some exciting place to enjoy. It would be because of the wolves who were tracking them from only mere miles away. The rogues from Banff were only two miles from Jasper, except for the two scouts watching the family from behind some boulders…


	9. Runt's Memories

**Chapter 8:**

**Runt's Memories**

"It's just five of them out there," MaKayla said to King and Queen. She and her friend Geoff were the scouts who had been spying on Kate's family, just two miles away

"Who were they?" King asked them.

"Kate, Humphrey, and their three children," Geoff said. "Runt, Claudette, and Stinky. Apparently they're on some sort of 'vacation,' based on what we overheard yesterday."

"No one else is with them?" Queen asked with surprise. "No alphas and betas? That will make our plans go so much smoother. We can just capture them so they can't get back to Jasper and possibly warn their pack of danger."

"That also means me being here is pointless," Princess said dryly.

"Not necessarily," King said. "We may still have things you can do to assist us further. Capturing them five of them won't be easy, but their trust of you, daughter, will be their downfall."

"How?" Princess asked.

"Same plan we talked about before," her father explained. "You will still tell them how you left us, wishing to join them. Just keep them distracted long enough for us to surround them…"

"…and capture them," Queen finished her husband's sentence.

* * *

><p>Runt was staring into the river, watching the water flow downstream and the fish swimming around calmly. But the flowing water and the fish were hardly on his mind.<p>

Princess was. For saving his life when he as a pup being the main reason for that. The other reason was because he was in love with Princess. Their age difference of just a year did not bother Runt all that much. Runt would love Princess no matter what, even if she were over a hundred miles away. And he hardly cared that her parents, King and Queen, would never approve of their love because he was from a rival pack and an omega wolf. King and Queen would never let an omega like Runt marry their daughter, an alpha. Not even if he saved her life, they were so selfish.

But her parents' thoughts of alphas marrying non-alpha wolves meant absolutely nothing to Runt. He had grown up with the notion that was not wrong to allow betas and omegas to marry alphas. And Runt was sure Princess did not have the same beliefs of the other rogues. She had proved that, in Runt's mind, when she betrayed her parents to save his life. She had even attacked her own father when he had attacked Runt.

Runt knew that Princess was nothing like her parents of the rest of her pack members. He had seen that as just a pup, so Runt truly believed, now, that she would betray her pack again if she had to. But, more than that, Runt wanted to see her again, not as a rogue wolf but as a wolf wanting to leave them for life in his pack, as a free wolf. And wanting to ask Runt for his paw in marriage. There was nothing Runt wanted more than Princess to be a member of a pack full of wolves who actually loved her. Not wolves who used her as a pawn to take his pack over like her own parents did.

And Runt wanted Princess to be his wife, the mother of his puppies. He had felt in his heart, for some time, that Princess was the wolf for him. Not Daria or Magril, even if he loved them as great friends. But Princess was the only wolf he had ever wanted to love as a wife, despite it being almost two years since they had seen each other. They had not even been together in that time to form a husband-wife bond with each other. Yet Runt was almost tempted to ask for Princess' paw in marriage if he ever saw her again. He dreamed about such almost every night and thought about it almost constantly.

That thought made Runt wonder if he would ever have the chance to just see Princess again, let alone marry her and have her carry their puppies. As he had thought before, Princess still lived in a park that was located over a hundred miles away from Jasper Park. And her parents would never change. None of the rogues were would any marriage between an alpha and a beta, or an alpha and an omega, or any other cross-rank marriage. Not the marriage between an omega and a beta, even if they respected no wolves of those ranks.

Runt now saw something more than just fish and currents in the fiver. His reflection seemed to have disappeared, replaced by that of a beautiful female wolf. The image of her almost hypnotized Runt because he had recognized her right away. It was Princess. But as quickly as this image in the river had appeared, it was gone after she winked at him. He just saw his own reflection in the water instead of his true love's reflection.

Runt only just realized that Claudette was by his side. But he did not know how long she had been there or if she had seen Princess' face in the river in place of his reflection. He could tell, however, that his older sister probably did not understand what it was Runt saw, or had seen, in the river. Claudette only saw their reflections and a school of flesh or two when she stared into the current. Nothing special or interesting.

"What is it you saw, little brother?" Claudette asked Runt.

"She's gone now," Runt replied without answering her question.

"Who?"

"Princess," he said. "I saw her reflection in the water but it's gone now."

"Are you feeling alright?" Claudette asked him.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Runt sighed. "I'm just missing Princess is all. But let's get back to our parents and Stinky before they start worrying about us."


	10. A Dire Situation

**Chapter 9:**

**A Dire Situation**

Runt and Claudette returned to where their parents and Stinky had been resting to a concerning sight. Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky were not there. But there was a sign of other wolves having been there and possibly a struggle. The grass was matted down as if wolves had fallen into their backs while defending themselves. And there were paw prints, large ones, leading away from the area they had been resting at. But there were no signs that they had been hurt, but that was hardly comforting for Runt and Claudette. They had no idea who had attacked their family or where they—their family and the possible attackers—had gone.

Runt was sniffing the ground but that did not give them any answers.

"How I wish it was me taken instead of Stinky!" Runt whined. "He would actually be a help with following their scent."

"You're still useful in different ways," Claudette assured him. "We'll find them. We will," she said. "Now you check out the area from that tree while I check around down here."

Runt immediately dug his claws into the tree and began climbing up it. Tree climbing was a skill unique to only Runt. He had started at a young age, just a pup, and no one else was able to even start to climb a tree like Runt could. No one could even learn how to get a hold of the tree or pull themselves up it to climb. It had to do with how Runt had no fear of heights while many other wolves did. But, when he got high up in the pine tree, Runt saw no signs of his parents or older brother. No tracks, no sight of the three wolves themselves. Just nothing, as if they had disappeared from the face of the Earth. But Runt knew better than to believe such a thing could happen. Yet he had no idea what could have happened to cause his parents and brother to just disappear.

Did something scare them off? Did they leave, figuring he and Claudette would catch up? Were they driven out of the area by other wolves defending their territory? Were they captured by those wolves? Runt did not want to think about the worse alternatives. Daria was an orphan and he did not want to end up without parents, just as he and Claudette were really growing up. And without their brother. Runt hoped it was one of the possibilities he had thought about, and not one of the possibilities he did not want to think about. He did not want to think about the worst-case scenarios.

"Do you see them?" Claudette called up to her younger brother, almost miserably. "Any of them?"

"No!" Runt called down. "I don't see them!" He climbed back down the tree and rejoined Claudette at her side.

"What do we do now?" Claudette whimpered.

Runt was staying calm, as hard as that was to believe. He had to, for his sister's sake. He knew how unstable Claudette could be when she was stressed about things. And nothing stressed a pup out, even if Claudette could not be called a pup but an adolescent, more than being separated from his or her parents before it was time for them to go off on their own. It was not time for Runt, Claudette, and Stinky to leave their parents' den quite yet.

"You can smell better than me," Runt told her. "Follow our parents' scent and we'll find them soon."

"Alright," Claudette replied in a shaky voice. "I'll try my best. I'm not as good of a sniffer as Stinky is." Claudette bent over, putting her muzzle to the ground and her butt up in the air, and then began sniffing as she army-crawled across the ground. Runt followed her, by her side, as she went forward.

"Anything?" Runt asked a little bit later.

"Yes," Claudette said. "I've found our parents and Stinky's sent. They went this way, into the tall grass. I have no idea why, but they did. But I smell other wolves as well."

"Who?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I've never been around these wolves before to smell their scent."

"Let me check it out," Runt said. "I may not, but I might as well try."

Runt got down and sniffed the area where Claudette had smelled. And, unlike his sister, Runt recognized the scent immediately. It caused his hackles and ears to stick straight up, and him to almost hiss like a cat.

"What is it?" Claudette asked, noticing her brother's sudden disgust.

"Rogues," Runt almost spat. "The Banff ones. I smelled King and Queen. MaKayla and Geoff are with them."

"Oh no…" Claudette whimpered.

"Princess and Melissa are with them too," Runt went on. "At least there is some good news. But…"

"…they have captured our parents and Stinky!" Claudette sobbed. "How will we get them back?"

"Calm, sister," Runt said, trying to help her relax. "We'll think of something. And I'm sure Princess and Melissa won't stand by if the other rogues have captured them. They saved my life from Scava when I had been captured by them. They didn't let anything happen to me, so I'm sure they won't let anything happen to our parents and Stinky. Now let's follow that scent trail. It will lead us to where the rogues have taken our parents, if they did. I just hope it is a bad confidence, that the rogues went the same way as our parents, but not to capture them."

"But, little brother, why else would the rogues be here, when Banff is a hundred miles away from Jasper?" Claudette questioned him.

"I don't know," Runt replied. "We just need to rescue our parents and brother. That's all that matters right now. We can deal with the rogues once we have rescued them."

* * *

><p>"I hear King talking," Runt said to Claudette half an hour later. They had not found their parents or Stinky yet, but Claudette was still following a scent trail that was a mix of the rogues and their relatives' scents.<p>

"And I hear Queen," Claudette whispered back. "I can recognize her loud voice anywhere."

"And…" Runt paused to listen. He heard voices that he recognized even more. "I hear our parents and Stinky! Stinky is yelling at the rogues!"

"And Princess, it sounds like she is arguing about something," Claudette told him.

"We should follow the voices," Runt whispered. "We know our parents and Stinky are still alive, but we have no idea if they have been captured."

Runt and Claudette came to the area where the voices were coming from, and they felt their hearts sink. They saw King and Queen on top of a stone ledge, staring down at a group of wolves. They first saw MaKayla and Geoff by each other's sides, lying down in the sun, and at the other side of the clearing, they saw Princess and Melissa. Princess was standing up, while Melissa was sunning herself as well.

_Things must have calmed down fast_, Runt thought. _They were yelling only fifteen minutes ago. Whatever they were yelling about, it must have been settled._

Runt and Claudette looked to the middle of the clearing, where they saw three more wolves who they recognized immediately. It was Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky. They were tied together with vines and had moss shoved in their muzzles. And that was not all. There were more than just six rogues around their relatives, but at least fifteen of them. And there were surely more of them on the way from Banff, or nearby scouting the area. Or just keeping watch

But there was one thing Runt and Claudette did know: they had to rescue their parents and brother. But how? They were only adolescent wolves, no match for the rogues!

The siblings could only hope that Princess and Melissa proved themselves again. And soon.


	11. Getting to Daria

**Chapter 10:**

**Getting to Daria**

Nars could not find Daria. He had followed her scent trail from their den near The Howling Rock back to the western territory but she was nowhere to be found. This was the first time Nars had ever been in tears since his father had scolded him for losing The Great Wolf Games to Kate, and when he had been haunted by those memories, breaking down in front of Fleet when his son had been competing in those games.

Nars wished Daria had never heard about who is father really was, even if the head wolf was gone. The head wolf had taken her and Lois' father away. That was something Daria would never let go. Nars, as he ran about the western territory in a frenzied search for his wife, hoped that it was just the initial shock of hearing that from those wolves that had caused Daria to say that. He was praying silently, as he ran about, that she had not really meant that. But he would really never know her intentions or not unless he got to talk to her.

But seeing Daria again seemed more and more unlikely for Nars, with every minute of not seeing or hearing her that went back. He was still following her scent trail, an hour-and-a-half after she had said they were over, that she was leaving him for good. And his heart broken more and more as time went by without Daria by his side. Nars had never felt this bad since he had lost his first wife through tragic events. Now he had lost Daria through tragic events, even though she was still alive. Nars knew that Daria had gone to Lois' den since Runt and his family was gone on their vacation, but he had no idea where Lois' den was. He had never thought to ask where Lois could live, but hopefully there were some wolves here that did know where it was, and did not know about what happened with Daria.

If he asked wolves who knew about what had happened between him and Daria not even two hours ago, they would not answer him. And they would possibly spread the word around that Daria did not want to be found by Nars. He had to find out where Lois' den was located before that happened, before it was too late to see Daria, his love, again.

Sweets, a kind omega wolf who was appropriately named, was nearby when Nars stopped running, due to exhaustion. She had noticed his distress and came over to him. "What's going on, Nars?" she asked him gently, sensing that he was severely upset emotionally.

"It's Daria…" Nars cried.

"What happened?" Sweets gasped.

"We had a falling out. She heard from some wolves gossiping that I am the son of the wolf who ruined her life. The head wolf. I am his son, but I never knew him, and when I heard about what he did to Daria…I wanted nothing to do with him. She left me, saying that we are over, not even two hours ago. And I cannot find her…I want to tell her the truth about my connection to the head wolf."

"She went to Lois' den," Sweets said, shocked by what had happened. She felt bad for both Daria and Nars. They loved each other deeply. She knew that and could not let their relationship end over something like this. Nars did not even know his father enough to be supportive of him. And he was not. He was against everything the head wolf had gone to Daria's family.

"Where's that at?" Nars almost sobbed.

"Just follow me," Sweets said before embracing him in a hug, as best as a wolf could do such a thing. "I know where her den is. I saw Daria go there. And I could hear her crying to Lois and Floyd about something. I'll do whatever I can to get her back with you."

Sweets barely knew Daria or Nars, but she could not stand by and let anyone's relationship fall about over something like this. Not when she knew the two wolves truly loved each other and that they were expecting puppies. She just could not let that happen. Daria and Nars needed each other. And Sweets could make sure they got each other again, no matter what she had to do to make things right between them.


	12. Kate's Shocking Revelation

**Author's note: **Everyone who has been reading my stories for some time as probably been waiting for me to do what I did with Humphrey in this chapter. Thanks to Kyuubi99 for helping me come up with this idea for what I did involving Humphrey. I'd refused to use ideas that are overused, and he thought of one that isn't.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11:<strong>

**Kate's Shocking Revelation**

Just because they were captured by the rogues did not mean Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky were not allowed to talk. They still were and that was about all the rogues let them do, aside from go to drink water from the nearby river under the strict watch of MaKayla and Geoff, the highest-ranking alphas under King and Queen. They were also given enough food from the rogues to keep them from complaining about being hungry, particularly Stinky. Younger wolves had to eat more than adult wolves did.

Humphrey had always been a happy-go-lucky wolf, sometimes even during the worst of times. But he was also a wolf who did not know where he had come from, who his parents were, or if he even had any siblings. He knew nothing of his past and it seemed that very few wolves did as he had never overheard anyone talking about his past. And no one had ever directly mentioned it to him either.

But there was one wolf who knew of his past and she was not far away from him. In fact, they had been tied together with vines earlier. He was looking at her right now and had no idea that Kate knew of his past. She was one of the few wolves who did know of Humphrey's past. Her parents, Tony, and Sweets' parents were about the only other ones who knew of Humphrey's past. Except for Tony, they were all involved in his past in some way.

"Humphrey," Kate said to her husband as Stinky slept nearby, for it was late out, and he had been tired. "There's something I need to tell you, that I never should have kept secret from you when we married. There should be no secrets between husband and wife, and I need to get this off your chest."

"What is it, dear?" Humphrey asked with a yawn.

"Humphrey, it has to do with your past," she admitted, "and how you grew up." Humphrey gasped. He was usually never left speechless, but those words had done it for him. "I'm sorry I never told you this earlier, but I am now. You have a rather bad past, like Daria…it will take a while for me to get your story known to you."

Kate sat down on her backside, while Humphrey lay down on his belly. He was ready to listen to Kate intently as she began telling him his own life story, which he had not known anyone knew until now. "You were born in the western territory, like Lilly and I were, around the same time as my sister and I. I do not recall your parents' names now, but if I ever do, I promise to tell you them immediately. There will be no more secrets between us, I swear, Humphrey.

"Well, when your mother was having her puppies," Kate continued, "something went wrong, and she passed away after having just one pup. That one pup is you. Your father saved you from not surviving, feeding you and making sure you got whatever you needed to stay alive without your mother's milk. He never let anything happen to you, even though his wife died giving birth to you. That probably made him love you more, with his wife gone, and only one pup left to raise by himself. Your parents had been members of the western pack, yes, but they had been more or less lone wolves. They had preferred to stay away from the other western wolves for reasons not even my father knows.

"Why don't I remember this?" Humphrey asked her.

"My father said it was because you were too young to remember what happened to your parents," Kate replied. "I'll get to that soon. I want to tell you everything that happened to you in the order it happened. Sometime after your mother passed away, your father moved to a different den, believing that he should not let you live in the same den where your mother passed away. But what happened next let to more unfortunate events in your early life.

"Your father did not realize that he had chosen the den of a mother coyote, heavily pregnant, and it did not end well. She fought your father and he did not win the fight. She spared you and regretted doing what she did to your father when she learned of the pup with him. She had even raised you as if you were her own until you ran off run day when she was in labor. Of course, she hadn't been able to catch you, but you were found by two adult wolves."

"Who were they?" Humphrey asked.

"Sweets' parents," Kate replied. "She had been carrying Sweets and her siblings at the time, but they had agreed to raise you. They had known your parents and went to look for them, only to learn the shocking truth of what happened to them when they heard of your parents' fate from the same coyote who hadn't meant to take your father from you. So they raised you, even after Sweets and her siblings were born. But when you grew up and moved away from their den, that is when you met Salty, Shakey, and Mooch not long before I went to alpha school."

"I killed her…" Humphrey said when Kate finished.

"Excuse me?" Kate gasped.

"My mother…" Humphrey cried. "I caused her to die when she was giving birth to me and my siblings. I just know I did! Why else would she have not made it when I did?"

"Humphrey, listen to me," Kate said softly. "You are not to blame for what happened to your mother. You were just an unborn pup when it happened. You did nothing to hurt your mother. She was sick when she went into labor and the process of giving birth was too much for her weak body. You did not do anything to cause your mother's death. She was sick and getting sicker when she went into labor."

"But…"

"No buts, Humphrey," Kate cut him off. "It is not possible for a pup to cause his mother's death when she is giving him to him. You didn't cause your mother's death. It is not possible at all. Just listen to what I am saying now. I love you, no matter your past. But you didn't do anything wrong in your life. You haven't yet, nor will you ever. I would not want to be with a wolf other than you in marriage. If I lost you, I would never marry another wolf. No one would make me want to, no matter what they said."

Humphrey looked at Stinky, who was still sleeping, and then back to Kate. "I love you, too," he replied, no longer thinking how he had caused his mother to pass away while giving birth to him. "You've proven it to me and I will prove it to you soon." If there was some hidden meaning those words, Kate did not care if she noticed or not. She was enjoying this moment with Humphrey, even if they were surrounded by the rogues on all sides.

"We can't leave here, for Stinky's sake," Kate said. "The rogues won't leave him alone if we do. Now, let's all get some sleep."

"Kate," Humphrey said.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Thank you," he replied. "Thank you for telling me of my past. I never thought I would know what happened to my parents or siblings."


	13. Go Away, Nars

**Chapter 12:**

**"Go Away, Nars"**

"Daria has been staying with Lois in her den ever since she found out about your real father," Claws said. She was one of the beta wolves who had been talking about the rumors of Nars being the son of the wolf who killed Daria's mother, and now regretted doing that before making sure Daria was not there to hear it.

"How do you know this?" Nars asked. Sweets was still by his side, as she had been ever since offering to help him and Daria reconcile.

"I'm partially to blame for her hearing about who your real father is," Claws admitted nervously. "I had been talking to Scar, Hutch, and Candu about it and not realized Daria had been listening in the entire time. Not until now. If your relationship doesn't work out, I'll never forgive myself."

"It's not your fault," Nars said. "Not any of you. None of you could have known she would be in the area when you talk about it."

"Do you know where Lois' den is?" Sweets asked the question on Nars' mind.

"Yes," Claws replied.

"Can you take us there?" Nars asked, almost excitedly. He could not wait to get to Daria again just to tell her the truth about who his father really was and why he had not told her about his past.

"Of course," Claws replied again, before turning tailing and walking down a trail between the grassy fields. Nars and Sweets followed close behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Lois asked Nars rather harshly when she saw him coming toward her den with Sweets and Claws.

"To see Daria," Nars replied. "And tell her the truth about my real father."

"No," Lois replied briefly. "She doesn't want to see you, Nars."

"Well, she will," Nars argued and went to walk past Nars. But he did not get very far before a male wolf tackled him to the ground. It was Daria's younger brother, who, like their now elderly father, had also joined the western pack.

"Daria said she doesn't want to see you," he said to Nars, who was effectively pinned to the ground. "So Lois and I won't allow you into our den."

"Not even to tell her the truth?" Nars said with disbelief. "You know I love Daria!"

"She doesn't want to see you now," her brother said again. "She's in Lois' den right now, bawling her eyes out because of how you hid the truth of your father from her. And I can't blame her. Your father took our mother from us and ruined our lives. You really expect Daria to forgive you and want to see you so easily, Nars?"

"I don't," Nars replied, "and that is fine. But I still want to see her so she knows the truth about why I didn't tell her."

"Lois?" Daria called in a sad voice. She sounded like she had been crying for some time. She spoke in a sob. "Who's out there?"

"Daria!" Nars called. "Tell your brother to get off of me so I can come in there and talk to you!"

Daria looked up from the ground, which was wet with her tears, and to where she heard Nars' voice coming from. She did not see him, obviously, but she could easily tell what direction his voice and scent came from.

"There is nothing to talk about," Daria replied in a sad voice. She felt tears running down her face as she said those words. "Just go away, Nars, and leave me alone…" Her words turned into a miserably howl that provoked Lois to run into the den and comfort her older sister.

"Now look what you've done!" Daria's brother snapped at Nars. "I should rough you up a bit for upsetting my sister. She's already been through more than any of us because of your father, and now she's learned she married the son of the wolf who ruined her life."

"Noel!" Claws barked. She confronted Noel so suddenly that he climbed off of Nars and backed off in shock. "That is enough."

Sweets brought herself into the conversation. "You may be right, Noel, but Nars means well. You know that."

"Let's just go," Nars said to Sweets and Claws. "Clearly Lois and Noel don't care about their sister enough to let her husband tell her to the truth about what is upsetting her. We'll come back later!"

In the cave, Daria looked up at her sister, whose shoulder she was crying on.

"What's going on?" Daria sobbed to Lois.

"Nars just wanted to see you," Lois replied. "But your brother drove him off."

Daria did not reply. _Maybe I should listen to him…_Daria thought to herself. _He may be sincere in what he said…_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> To explain why I haven't posted anything for a few weeks, it's because I took a short break to play a game. But that break is over and I'm back to writing now. Also, thanks to Kyuubi99 for coming up with the name I used for Daria's brother.


	14. Princess!

**Chapter 13:**

**Princess!**

"What do we do, Runt?" Claudette asked urgently, yet still speaking in a whisper so the rogues would not know they were there, and capture them as well. "They have our parents and Stinky!"

"I don't know," Runt replied. He was shaking because of how their family vacation had gone bad so quickly. "There are too many of them for us to do anything ourselves."

"What about Princess?" Claudette suggested. She was also shaking because of her and Runt's concern for their family. "And Melissa? They're against King and Queen!"

"You're right," Runt agreed, "but will they be able to help us? Look at how many of the rogues there are. Even with Princess and Melissa's help, we'll still be outnumbered. There's no way we can defeat them, just four wolves. And don't forget—we're hardly adult wolves."

"And I'm with pups!" Claudette nearly yelped when she suddenly remembered how she and Fleet were expecting their first litter of pups. If she had said that any louder, the rogues would have heard her.

"Keep your voice low," Runt whispered. "We have to avoid being noticed by the rogues for as long as we can, alright?"

"Alright," Claudette replied in a whisper. "But how are we going to help our parents and Stinky? You're the only one who can, but neither of us stand a chance against even one rogue."

"I'll think of something," Runt assured her. "Just try to stay calm, sis."

Down in the canyon where the rogues were, with the three captured wolves, there was one wolf who was aware of Runt and Claudette's presence. And she was a good distance away from the rest of the rogues, talking with the only other wolf she could trust. Princess. And the trustworthy rogue she was talking to was Melissa.

"Runt and Claudette are up there," Princess said to Melissa in a whisper only she could hear. "I saw them when they first arrived. Thankfully the others didn't before they got out of sight."

"What do you suggest we do?" Melissa asked. Neither she-wolf allowed their voices to rise above a low whisper.

"The right thing," Princess replied.

"Excuse me?"

"Leave King's pack," she explained to her old friend. "And help Runt's family out. We won't return to them…ever. And we must do whatever we can to help them get out of this together. Claudette is expecting pups—I heard her say that to Runt just now. They have no idea we can hear them down here, but they can't hear us."

"How will we get away unnoticed?" Melissa asked.

"Just follow me," Princess replied. "They'll never see us leave or be able to follow our scent trails."

"I hope you're right, old friend," Melissa replied. "The lives of those three may just depend on it. And the future of those two on the hill above us as well."

"Come on," Princess growled lowly as she began stalking up the hillside on her belly. Melissa followed her. They looked forward, crawling side-by-side of each other, as they went up the hillside.

Melissa now realized how Princess' plan would be carried out without a hitch—the hillside was lined with bushes and the rest of their pack would never notice them army crawling up the hill together. And because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, the rogues would not smell the two females as they climbed up the hill.

"They aren't too far away," Princess whispered.

"I see them," Melissa replied. "They're behind bushes as well."

"I'll go speak to them first so they aren't surprised," Princess told the other wolf. "They don't know you at all, despite everything you did for them, so just wait here."

"Alright," Melissa replied. She dug her claws into the dirt so she would not slide down the hillside and they be figured out. "Whisper my name when you want me to show myself."

"Runt, Claudette," the two siblings heard a female voice whisper from the line of bushes growing on the hill. It was familiar, yet they did not recognize who it belonged to until she revealed herself by crawling out of the bush.

"Princess!" Runt and Claudette gasped in unison.

"W-What are you doing here?" Runt asked him. Seeing Princess, the wolf he was truly in love with, again was almost a dream come true. The thing Runt saw wrong with this was the circumstances he and Princess met under again.

"To help the two of you," she explained. "Melissa and I left King's pack to help you rescue your parents and brother. We couldn't bear to stand by and watch your family be in the situation they are."

Melissa emerged from the bush in that moment and stood by Princess' side after standing up, and shaking a few leaves off her body.

"What plan do you have?" Claudette asked.

"King and Queen have no idea we betrayed them again," Princess explained. (She refused to call King and Queen her parents due to her extreme dislike of them both, hence why she used their names rather than that title.) "So the plan is that we will distract them and, as your parents and brother are no longer tied up with vines, you two will lead them away through those bushes over there."

Melissa motioned to the bushes right by where Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky were resting by. And the five wolves on the hillside already could see that it led up to the same spot they were at now. It was an almost flawless plan, they thought.

"When we will go after them?" Runt asked.

"After nightfall," Princess answered him, the pup she still remembered sacrificing herself for, and earning a second chance at life because of. "We'll go to where our pack can see us now, before they get suspicious. It will be nightfall in half an hour, so we'll all be on our way to Jasper in no time if everything goes as planned."

"Signal us when you want us to carry out our part of the plan," Runt said.

Princess nodded in response as the two she-rogues made their way back down the hillside, keeping hidden behind the bushes as they did so. They were back to where King's pack was at in a minute or two, and they had no aroused any suspicion.

Runt and Claudette felt worry in their hearts as they watched Princess and Melissa head back toward King's pack. Would their plan really work out as well as they hoped it would? They all hoped it would, but none of them could predict the future or control its outcome. They could only hope that things would take a turn for the best in the end at this point.


	15. Rescue Mission

**Chapter 14:**

**Rescue Mission**

It was the night after Princess and Melissa had detailed their plan to rescue the three Jasper wolves to Runt and Claudette, only half an hour or so after that secretive meeting. Princess and Melissa were still among the rogues, by each other's sides, and looking to the hillside from where Runt and Claudette were still watching the rogues, and their captured family.

Runt could not take his eyes off Princess or his captured family, as the moon began rising higher and higher in the sky. It was a full moon with a light shining on the ground that gave an almost eerie feel to the landscape. There was a stretch of a white light as far as the wolves' eyes could see. It made the bodies of the wolves glow brightly as it stretched past them.

"How are we going to do this?" Claudette whispered to her little brother. "There's so many of the rogues. We're outnumbered, even with Princess and Melissa helping us."

"They said they would distract the rogues," Runt answered, also in a whisper. "Let's just hope their plan works. They should be doing it soon, I'm sure."

"I hope you're right," Claudette replied.

Down in the canyon, Princess and Melissa began to act. They got up and headed back over to the group of rogues, numbering in the twenties, at the minimum. It was just Princess, Runt, Claudette, and Melissa up against five times as many wolves as they had on their side, excluding the three who were captured—Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky. There was no way they could stand a chance if a battle broke out. They would have no choice but to run away, even if they were over a hundred miles away from help—the wolves of Jasper Park. And not one of those wolves even knew of the situation involving the captured wolves. It was entirely up to Princess, Runt, Claudette, and Melissa to rescue Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky from the rogues.

"Let's not arouse any suspicion when we do this," Melissa whispered to Princess while they were still out of the other rogues' hearing range.

Princess nodded in response and there would be no other words uttered between them about their plan to rescue Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky.

Runt and Claudette watched from the bushes on the hillside as the two she-wolves nonchalantly made their way over to the group of rogues, which included King and Queen. MaKayla and Geoff were there was well, watching over the three captured wolves. The other fourteen wolves were around these six in a circular formation, watching to make sure no one attempted to escape or rescue the captured wolves.

"What is it, daughter?" King asked Princess, almost harshly. "You and Melissa are supposed to be watching for other Jasper wolves, not wandering around the area."

"What are we going to do with these two if the alphas from the united pack never come looking for these three?" Princess asked a question of her own, which (in her mind) effectively answered King's question.

"Then there will be no use of having them here," Queen answered for her husband. "MaKayla and Geoff already agreed that they would take care of them, and Claudette and Runt if we find them as well. If no one comes for these three by sunset tomorrow, then we will rid ourselves of them. Permanently."

It took all the effort Princess and Melissa had for them to avoid gasping with horror, or gulping. That would give them away and show they were still on the side of the Jasper wolves, which would be a foolish mistake for them. Things would go south for the two, secretly defective she-wolves if they showed any sympathy for Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky. Or for _any_ of the wolves from Jasper.

"Now get back to keeping watch on the hill," King snapped. "You heard all you need to hear about this. You two may have proven yourselves as loyal again, but we'll never forget how you betrayed us to assist the Jasper wolves two years ago."

_Just you wait_, Melissa thought harshly as she and Princess made their way back over to the hill they had been assigned to keep watch from. Neither of them took their eyes off of the three captured wolves and the rogues unless it was to look to where Runt and Claudette were still lying in wait to lead their family away if everything went as planned.

"I say it's time we do this and help them get away," Princess whispered to her old friend. "I've had enough of seeing those three like this. It's time we free them, at any cost."

"Alright," Melissa replied in a whisper. "You lead."

King, being the inattentive wolf he was, did not notice the two traitorous wolves as they stalked through the bushes and grass that surrounded the area. None of the rogues noticed Princess and Melissa as they went to a spot that would be perfect for providing distraction. The perfection distraction that would allow for Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky to finally get away from their captors, after being encircled by rogue wolves for a few days now.

Runt and Claudette saw them moving through the grass, as they watched everything going on from their high vantage point in the bushes on the hillside. They felt their hearts racing, as they knew their family's freedom or continued capture would be determined in this moment. It was a one-chance situation. If their plan failed, then there would be no second chance for them to save their family. And then who would there be to save Princess and Melissa, if this did not go as planned? King and Queen would not give them a second chance if they were figured out at any time, whether Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky escape or not.

Claudette embraced Runt in a hugging fashion. "Oh, Runt," she whimpered in a low voice. "I hope they can do this. I don't want to lose our parents or Stinky…"

"We won't lose them," Runt assured his older sister. "We won't lose them or Princess and Melissa. We'll all get out of here and back to Jasper."

The two frightened siblings suddenly heard barking and howling coming from down in the canyon where all of the wolves were. While they knew it was Princess and Melissa, the rogues did not as those fools still believed they were keeping watch from the cover of bushes on the hillside. They believed it was…

"Wolves from Jasper!" MaKayla suddenly howled, as the rogues began running around in a panic. "They've come to rescue these three!"

"They won't succeed!" King snarled. "We'll do whatever we have to, to stop them from rescuing these three, even if it means taking them out!"

_No!_ Runt nearly screamed out. He stopped as that would give his and Claudette's position away. While this all went on, Princess and Melissa continued snarling and howling from the bushes. And the rogues continued panicking as they looked all over for where they believed wolves from Jasper could be hiding. King and Queen were the only wolves not doing such, but there was still no order among the small group of panicking rogues who were trying and failing to find the Jasper wolves that were not there at all.

"Where are they?!" Geoff growled as he and MaKayla ran around like mad wolves, sticking their head in every bush, expecting to find at least one Jasper wolf there barking. But not one of the twenty plus rogue wolves found what they were looking for. And it was so chaotic that not even the rogues' two leaders saw the younger wolves crawling across the ground toward them. Runt and Claudette had snuck down to right under the ledge where King and Queen were through the bushes.

Thankfully, their parents and brother were also just out of the rogue leaders' view. So they only saw their twenty plus followers panicking in vain as the two adolescent wolves went to rescue their parents and brother.

"Mom," Runt whispered. "Dad. Stinky."

Kate, Humphrey, and Stinky were the only wolves who heard Runt's voice. They all looked up and it was nearly impossible for them to avoid gasping with relief.

"Runt! Claudette!" Kate whispered. "You found us. How?"

"We followed your and the rogues' paw prints to here," Claudette explained.

"Who is that barking and howling?" Stinky asked. None of them spoke above a whisper because they knew King and Queen were only feet above them.

"Princess," Runt replied.

"And Melissa," Claudette added.

"They're distracting the rogues. And they're falling for it. Just look at how they're panicking, thinking wolves have surrounded the area."

"Let's just get out of here," Humphrey said to his finally reunited family. "We can catch up on things later."

Humphrey was taking charge of them all even if Kate was the dominant wolf in the pack. He would not let anything happen to his wife and children, even if that meant making the ultimate sacrifice for them all. He was ready to fight for his family like he and Kate had fought for Daria last fall. Humphrey would do anything and everything to help Kate and their children make it back to Jasper, no matter what the cost was for him.


	16. Reconcilation

**Chapter 15:**

**Reconciliation**

Nars did not know what to do anymore. Daria did not want to be with him and her younger siblings (Lois and Noel) would not let him see her. Daria was miserable, bawling her eyes out the last time Nars had seen her. And her voice had been filled with so much pain that Nars had nearly started crying with his wife. They had been together for a few months, since the early spring, and Daria was pregnant with their pups. She would need Nars when their pups were born, whether she and her siblings wanted to see him or not. And he knew that, very soon, Daria would be having those pups and he wanted to be there for her when that happened. And he wanted to be with her until they were both old wolves. There was no getting around the fact that Daria would need Nars to help raise her puppies. No brother or sister could do for them what their father could.

Daria and Nars were the only wolves who could raise their puppies. And Daria would have to rely heavily on Nars due to her blindness. Yes, Lois and Noel could do a decent job at helping raise their pups, but there was no replacing a father wolf in raising pups. They would all learn that the hard way if they did not let Nars get to Daria again. Her life would be miserable without her husband if they never got to be together again after their puppies were born.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Nars sighed sadly to Sweets and Candy, who had come with him back to his and Daria's den near the howling rock. Claws, however, had not come with Nars, Sweets, and Candy after the encounter with Daria's siblings outside of Lois' den. "Without Daria, I am nothing," he sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Nars," Sweets said to him. She hugged him, as best as a wolf could do such an act. "I tried…I really did…"

"It's not your fault, Sweets," Nars told the orange she-wolf. "It's mine. I should have told Daria of my past when we first fell in love, even if I never knew the head wolf as a father. Maybe we would still be together if I hadn't tried keeping my past secret from here…I'm just an old fool…"

"Nars," Candy said. "You did the right thing by not telling Daria. You wanted to protect her. That makes you a good husband, in my opinion. I would have done the same thing if I were you."

"What am I going to do, though?" Nars almost sobbed. "Daria can't raise our pups without their father and I can't stand being away from her…"

"We're going back to Lois' den to confront them again," Sweets suddenly interrupted. "You just go into the den to see Daria no matter what Lois or Noel say. She may be going into labor soon and you need to be there for her, whether they want you to be there or not."

* * *

><p>"Nars, we told you to go away and not come back," Noel snarled when he and Lois saw Nars returning to Lois' den with Sweets and Candy on either side of him.<p>

"Is Daria your wife?" Nars asked almost rhetorically.

"No, of course now," Noel replied. "But she's my sister."

"That doesn't mean anything. You aren't the one whose pups she is carrying, so get out of my way," Nars threatened. "Unless you want me to force my way past you."

"Daria is in labor!" the wolves suddenly hear Lois shout from her den. They heard Daria screaming as she began giving birth. Lois appeared out of the den and was shocked to see Nars here again. "What are you doing here?" she asked him harshly.

"To see my wife," Nars replied. "Neither of you will stop me. She is my wife and I want to be there for her now that she's having our pups. I told you, I would always be there for your sister, no matter what hardships affect our relationship. Now stay out of my way while I go to relax her."

Lois and Noel were both speechless. They now believed Nars, as the former northern alpha made his way past them. They stayed outside of the den, with Sweets and Candy, as Nars entered in.

Daria was lying on her side, on a bed of moss, screaming and breathing heavily, as she tried giving birth. She was understandingly in a good amount of pain, as she pushed, stopped to breathe, and repeated. Nars went over to her and Daria sensed his presence immediately.

"Nars…?" Daria asked in a pained voice. "Is that…really you?"

"Yes, it is," Nars replied. "I came to be with you. And it seems I got here at the best time," he added good-naturedly. "Just keep breathing and pushing, dear. It will be over soon. Nars was behind her, with his tail wrapped around her with comforting intentions. He wanted Daria to be as calm as possible as she went through this stressful and painful ordeal.

Daria could not bear to utter any more words. She just screamed, squealed, and breathed heavily as she went back to pushing as the pups moved through her. She was in the worst physical pain of her life, but she thought it was worth it as she went through it because she would finally be a mother. For all the time she had been alone in the saw tooth cave, Daria had always dreamt of having a husband and pups who loved her. Well, she hadn't know what a husband or pups were at first, but she had heard Floyd (the porcupine who raised her) mention that he had a wife and children, then he explained the whole family thing to her when she was around a year-and-a-half old.

Nars kept whispering encouraging words in Daria's right ear as she went through this. He said things about how she was doing good and that she was a strong wolf. He also told Daria that he loved her as much as he loved his pups, Fleet and Magril.

It was over an hour later and Daria was extremely exhausted, as the three newborn pups lay at her belly, nursing and letting out a high-pitched squealing as they drank milk from Daria. They were blind like their mother was, but all pups were that way at birth. Their eyes would open up in a few days, once they had the strength to begin moving around. But it would be several weeks before Daria or the three newborns could ever leave their den. Until then, Nars would have to do hunt for Daria and bring her food. That was something he had done before today, so it would not be a huge change in Nars' daily life. He was already used to hunting for Daria, due to her blindness, and bringing food back for her. But it would surely require a much greater amount now than ever because she had to keep up her energy to produce enough milk for their puppies.

Daria looked at Nars, and groaned, "I…love you." Her voice was still filled with pain even though she had given birth, but her pain would subside soon. She just needed to sleep it off and let her puppies nurse as Nars and the other wolves (who had been outside the den during the time she gave birth) watched her sleep peacefully.


	17. An Omega Proves Himself for His Family

**Chapter 16:**

**An Omega Proves Himself for His Family**

"Traitors!" King ranted to the rest of the rogues who were still in the canyon with him. "Both of them are traitors!" King was referring to Princess and Melissa—he now knew that they were the ones who had been barking from the foliage and sent the rogues into a panic.

"What do you want us to do?" MaKayla snarled.

"Find my daughter and Melissa," he replied, "and make sure they don't betray us again. They've done it for the last time."

* * *

><p>Not that far away from where the enraged rogues were, Kate's family, Princess, and Melissa were heading in the opposite direction as fast as they could. They were no more than a mile away from Jasper. They could get that far by nightfall if there were no interruptions as a single wolf could get that far in a day's time or less.<p>

But Claudette, being pregnant with Fleet's pups, required much more food than the others did, and that meant the small group had been stopping every few hours not for themselves but for Claudette. Every time the group stopped to hunt, however, they were put at greater and greater risk of being found by the rogues. They had been traveling for half a day non-stop, except when they hunted for Claudette, and were just under a mile away from Jasper now. And they were at least a quarter mile away from where they had last seen the rogues, other than Princess and Melissa of course. They hoped that those two would be the only rogues they saw on their way back to Jasper and ever again. And they also hoped that the canyon a quarter mile away from here would be the last place they ever saw any of King's pack members.

"We should get going now," Melissa said to the Jasper wolves. "Every time we stop moving, the chance of encountering King's pack again increases."

"She's right," Princess agreed. "We must get out of here now. I fear something bad will happen if we don't soon, at least."

"Come on, everyone," Kate said to the group. "Claudette, you've eaten your fill for now, so let's get going before the rogues find us again."

Runt and his siblings got up at once to follow the four older wolves as they continued heading north through the field and hopefully away from the rogues for good. If they did get back to Jasper, they would not just be safe but Princess and Melissa would finally be free wolves. Free from King's control and their secret fear of his cruel leadership. They would have nothing to fear if they made it to Jasper Park. Princess and Melissa were both less than a mile away from freedom and the lives they had always wanted to live since first meeting Runt and the other Jasper wolves over a year ago, in the winter.

"Do you really think we'll run the risk of seeing the rogues again?" Runt asked his parents. Claudette and Stinky were on either side of him, their parents in front of them, and Princess and Melissa behind them.

"Not if we keep going at the pace we have been," Humphrey replied.

"I greatly doubt we ever will see the rogues, son," Kate said. "Even with unexpected interruptions. We've gotten away from them so quickly that there's no foreseeable way they could catch up with us now."

"That's comforting," Stinky said. Normally, that would have been a sarcastic statement, but there was no sarcastic bite in his voice this time. He truly meant what he just said. "I just hope we never see those wolves again!" he added harshly.

"I agree," Claudette said.

Runt agreed as well, only with much more force in his voice. Runt, in particular, had a strong dislike for the rogues because of everything they had done to him and his family since he was just a pup. There was kidnapping him and then threatening to take his life when he was just a pup. Then he almost lost Princess to them, only to be separated from her for over a year. And now they had captured some of his family. Their escape with Princess and Melissa's help did not do a lot to less Runt's dislike of them all. There was absolutely nothing would change Runt's feelings towards the rogues, especially King and Queen. He considered them to be the worst and cruelest wolves he had ever met before. Scava was too, but he was gone and would not ever hurt anyone again thanks to Princess.

Kate's ears suddenly shot up with agitated alertness. That only meant one thing—other wolves. And not allies, or else Kate would not have reacted the way she did. It was rival wolves and the wolves from Jasper only had one rival pack. King's pack of rogue wolves. Never had any other wolf agitated like this before. Not even the head wolf, Nars' real father and the wolf who ruined most of Daria's early life, until she had joined the western pack.

"What is it, Mom?" Runt asked. In that moment, he also noticed that Princess and Melissa's ears were also stuck straight up in agitation.

"The rogues," Kate replied. "Only five of them—King, Queen, MaKayla, Geoff…I don't know about the fifth one but it's a male wolf."

"How did they catch up with us so quickly?" Stinky asked. All three of Kate and Humphrey's children were on high alert, with their ears and hackles raised now, because of the word "rogues" being uttered.

"Doesn't matter," Princess said. "We out number them. Seven of us, five of them."

"You expect us to fight!" Stinky yelped. "Claudette, Runt, and I won't stand a chance against them!"

"Just stay back, son," Humphrey said. "Your mother, Princess, Melissa, and I can handle them. The rogues may be the larger wolves, but they know very little about fight."

"Melissa and I are the only rogues who do," Princess interrupted. "We can help the two of you fight them off—"

Princess stopped speaking because someone cut her off. It was King. She recognized his voice immediately, as did the other wolves with her.

"You'll need a lot of luck to fight us off," King said. Queen, MaKayla, Geoff, and the fifth unknown rogue were on either side of him, all growing with their teeth showing.

"Get behind us," Kate said to her and Humphrey's children. They did just that, without debating the matter.

Princess did not hesitate one second to attack the rogues. Melissa did not either. Before Geoff and the other male wolf could react, they were both rendered unconscious with their heads slammed against medium-sized rocks. They would be that way for a while and now the odds were more even for the Jasper wolves and two former rogues. It was three against four now.

"Give up now, King," Kate snarled as the wolves circled each other, snapping their jaws and waving their tails back-and-forth slowly with anticipation for a fight.

"Not until we've take all of you out," King replied in a raspy voice. He snapped his jaws at Kate but missed entirely.

"None of you will return to Jasper," Queen added.

"I'll personally make sure _you_ don't, Princess," MaKayla growled. "Especially after how you betrayed us for the second time, killed Scava, hurt your own father, and now two more of us!"

"Geoff? He deserved what he just got," Princess taunted. "He's lucky he's still breathing. They both are!"

"No, Geoff isn't my husband! I'm talking about the other one, Ronnie!" MaKayla lunged at Princess only to find herself pinned to the ground by the wolf she had intended to attack. Princess struck MaKayla on her neck with her right pack, between MaKayla's ear line and neck. That act immediately sent MaKayla into a state of unconsciousness, leaving King and Queen to fight against four wolves with no support.

"If we are defeated," King said with a growl, "then we'll make sure we take someone important to your family with us!"

"NO!" Kate screamed as King lunged toward the largest of the gray wolves who were present. "Humphrey!"

Kate screamed again when she saw red and felt wetness all over her face. Humphrey collapsed in a yelping heap as he felt his strength leaving him suddenly. His vision was blurry as not three but six wolves seemed to fight King and Queen. It was not just Kate and the two former rogues but also Runt, Claudette, and Stinky as well.

"GET THEM!" Humphrey heard someone roar. It sounded like a female, maybe Kate. But the weak omega wolf was not sure. He was so weak because of the red fluid that was his life force left his body from a grievous chest wound.

Before he knew, King and Queen had been driven off due to the overwhelming force of six wolves against two. But by the time the other six wolves surrounded Humphrey, he had already slipped into unconsciousness.

Kate broke down and fell onto her husband's still body. She feared the worst and wanted these next three words from her mouth to be the last words Humphrey heard, if it came to that. Their family vacation was ruined no matter what happened to her husband in this moment.

"I love you," Kate whispered in Humphrey's ear, but she had no idea if she was too late to tell him that or not.


	18. Three Healthy Pups

**Chapter 17:**

**Three Healthy Pups**

"They're beautiful, Nars," Daria said to her husband. She was blind and therefore could not see her pups, but Daria believed in her heart that their three newborns were the most beautiful things in the world.

"So are you, baby," Nars commented. "The most beautiful girl I've ever met in Jasper."

"Oh, Nars," Daria giggled. "I looove it when you talk to me that way." She playfully brushed her against Nars' muzzle in a teasing fashion.

"And I love your tail, too," Nars said just as playfully, with a laugh. "It's so soft like your voice, especially when you sing or howl."

"Thank you, Nars," she replied. Daria felt drunk with love for Nars in this moment.

Nars noticed the change of his wife's tone. It was sudden, so he asked her, "Is something wrong, dear?"

"Yes," Daria replied. "I never told you that I'm sorry."

Nars was a bit confused. "About what?" he asked her.

"About saying that were done and that you'd never get to see them." She motioned her tail to where their three newborns were sleeping on a bed of warm mosses. "I never should have blamed you for what your father did to ruin my family's life."

"Daria—" Nars began.

"No, Nars," she cut him off. "Just listen to what I have to say." Daria blinked twice. "I didn't mean what I said about leaving you because of who your father was. I was upset then and had reacted too soon. I should have given you a chance to explain the situation. I want you to know that I will always love you Nars, no matter what happens. And I won't let our pasts ruin our love for each other.

"I love you with all my heart, Nars," Daria continued. She stopped to plant her lips against Nars' lips in a kissing fashion. (She did not have to see to be able to do this. She just followed Nars' sent and assumed she kissed his lips, which she did.) It was a loud kiss that was as powerful as their love for each other was.

"Daria," Nars said when she ceased her kiss. "Can I ask you something? If you don't want to answer, I understand. It's rather personal…"

"Ask," Daria replied. "There should be no secrets between mates, especially ones who are now parents."

"How did you become blind?" Nars asked her hesitantly. "Were you born that way or did it happen shortly after?"

"I wasn't blind for the first few weeks of my life," Daria willingly replied. "Lois told me what our father had told her when she reached her teen years. It was an accident when I was only six weeks old; my eyes and ears had just begun functioning and I had just grown my first fur coat, so you know, I was a curious pup exploring the world for the first time. Well, I didn't know what a porcupine was at the time when I had repeatedly asked one if he wanted to play."

"So…" Nars began, almost horrified.

"Yes." Daria nodded. "He shot quills at me, but he hadn't intended to hurt me. Let alone blind me. He had just wanted to scare me away and had felt around about blinding me when my parents had confronted him."

Nars was so stunned by his wife's answer that he did not know how to respond immediately. "I can't believe it," he said softly. "Everything that happened to you, including your mother's death, happened only because a porcupine was angry with you. And my father was so cruel that he resulted your life just because he was unsympathetic of disabled wolves…it makes me sick being related to him."

"I don't want to talk about the past anymore," Daria told him. "The head wolf is gone forever and won't be hurting anyone again, my mother can finally rest in peace knowing that I'll always be safe and that I now have a loving husband—and three healing puppies that are a sign of our love for each other."

Daria felt a smile grow over her lips as she looked into Nars' eyes. They were outside their den, which was a cave located near the howling rock, so their pups would not be disturbed by anything they had or would say and do. And because no wolves came to the howling rock except on the night of a full moon, Daria and Nars had the privacy in the world. And since it was almost night now, Daria's siblings—Lois and Noel—as well as Floyd, the porcupine who raised Knew, knew not to come here at this time as this was when they would want their privacy.

Nars recognized the expression Daria had on her face, even though he had only seen it twice. The first time was when they had fallen in love at first sight. The second time was just before Daria had convinced their puppies a few months earlier, when it was spring but there it had still been snowing on rare occasions. It was mid spring now, so it was beginning to feel more and more like summer, even at night.

So given that, Nars knew why Daria was giving him this familiar look for a third time now. It was _that_ look, he figured. It was as if she was falling in love with him all over again, even if they were married.

"I want to prove my love for you," Daria said.

"We already did that," Nars replied with a smile. "Our pups are proof of that. So is what we said about how much we love each other."

"Well," Daria said sheepishly. "I want to prove it to you even more." She made her way over to a bush that went to the trail that led to and from their hidden den. She motioned with her tail for Nars to follow her. She pointed in the direction she was heading, which was toward the howling rock. And then she disappeared head first into the bush.

"Ooh, Nars," he heard Daria howl from the bush. She had the most beautiful howl he had ever heard and it told him that she wanted to go to the howling rock with him. She knew it was not a full moon, but that would not stop her from howling with her husband on this night. Howling together was something they had never done for each other yet and Daria did not want to wait until the next full moon to do it.

"Coming dear," Nars said as he rushed over to the bush and found himself standing over Daria's side before she had a chance to get out of his way.

Daria laughed after they both recovered from their surprise.

"Nars," Daria said as she planted another kiss on the larger wolf's muzzle. "I love you…" she added in a slow, flirty voice. "And I said I'd keep proving it...now let's get to the howling rock and howl the night away."

And Daria's words turned into a smile before they went to howl. And before they proved their love for each other once again in the best way they could.


	19. A Few Miracles

**Chapter 18:**

**A Few Miracles**

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Kate," Princess whispered in the grieving wolf's ear. She was still lying over Humphrey's motionless body, wailing loudly. Claudette, also in tears, was by her mother's side.

Runt and Stinky could not bear to look at their father's seemingly lifeless body. They could tell he was not gone yet but how long would he be that way? Humphrey was so weak because of his chest wound and it hurt the other wolves to know that next to nothing could be done to save him.

Kate was taking this worse than all of the other wolves were. She was watching her husband slowly slip away with their children having to see this happen as well. Or at least they knew it was happening.

Kate had known Humphrey longer than all of them had, ever since they had first met as puppies when an orphaned Humphrey had been adopted out to Sweets' parents. Humphrey was not only Kate's oldest friend but he had also been her first true love before they married.

For all of those reasons, it almost literally broke Kate's heart to see that wolf, now her husband, like this. She could not stand the thought of losing Humphrey in any way, especially in death as that would be forever. If he died, then the rogues would have not only ruined what should have been a happy time for their family (the vacation they were on) but also the entire family's lives. It almost made Runt getting kidnapped by the rogues two winters ago seem like a good thing!

Kate ignored everything the others were saying to her. Even the words of her children. She only heard Humphrey groaning with pain and breathing breathes that seemed to become less frequent as time went back. And the time between each breath seemed to increase with everyone he took. It made the other six wolves that each of Humphrey's breaths could end up being his last one.

"Humphrey!" Kate howled with extreme grief, the most she had ever felt in her life before. Kate now knew how Humphrey had felt when he had been grieving for her eyes earlier after that caribou stampede. Now the roles had been reversed, only did not foresee a happy ending for everyone this time. None of them did.

"Humphrey!" she wailed. "You can't die on me! No, Humphrey!" As she sobbed, Kate began pressing _hard_ on her husband's chest, as if to revive him. She knew that his chest wound would not open up again. It had clotted and seemingly healed at a remarkable speed.

Kate began to shout at Humphrey as she intensely pushed on his chest and breathed into his snout. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE…UPPPP!" Kate began screaming at her husband now. "WAKE…UPPPP!"

As Kate screamed, she did not notice the miracle unfolding at her paws. Neither did Claudette, who was still grieving by her mother's side. None of the wolves noticed it because of how badly they were grieving Humphrey. The miracle unfolding at their paws was Humphrey slowly moving in that moment. Humphrey blinked a few times and then gasped as he returned to consciousness.

"Kate…?" he asked her weakly.

"HUMPHREY!" Kate howled again, this time with joy rather than grief. She immediately hugged Humphrey, who was still weak. "Don't you EVER do that again!" she cried happily.

"It could have been you instead," Humphrey told her in a weak voice. "I did it for all of you, Kate…"

Kate cuffed her husband across the head, even if it had been with the best intentions. Kate then hugged Humphrey fiercely, in the strongest hug she had ever given anyone in her life before.

"I was afraid I had lost you…" Kate sobbed. She did not want to free Humphrey from her hug. Not ever.

"I-I thought we lost you, dad…" Runt and Stinky said to him together. Claudette was speechless at this miracle or she would have said that with her brothers rather than remained silent. It was the best miracle any of them had ever witnessed since Princess' miraculous return to life two winters ago.

And now that he knew his father would love, there was one thing Runt still wanted to do if his life were ever to be truly complete. It had to do with Princess and his undeniable love for her. The rogues had been defeated and Princess would never return to this (nor would Melissa) so this was the perfect time to tell Princess what had wanted to since they had first been reunited only a few days earlier. So Runt could finally ask Princess the one thing he had always wanted to over an entire year.

"Princess?" Runt said to the brown she-rogue as he nervously approached her.

"Yes, Runt?" she replied.

"I wanted to ask you this for a while," he continued. "I have always wanted to be your mate…so will you marry me?"

Princess' eyes grew large with surprised joy. "Oh, Runt," she gasped. "Of course I will!" Then she immediately embraced and the kissed the wolf whose life she had saved when he was just a pup. She was only a few months older than Runt was, so they would be able to produce pups together when next spring came about.

"I love you," Runt told her.

"I love you, too," Princess replied, as they rubbed their heads against each other. "My little Runty Wunty," she added with a coo in her voice that made Runt blush slightly. That was normally only a she-wolf addressed her pups, not her husband. But Runt did not really mind all that much simply because he could finally be with his only true love. He just hoped Magril, who loved him, would not be too upset when she heard about this.

As Princess and Runt cooed over each other, Claudette and Stinky approached their parents. Melissa was not far away, watching these few miracles unfold with a warm feeling in her heart.

"What do we do now, Mom?" Stinky asked.

"And what about the rogues?" Claudette asked. "Should we get other alphas from our pack and go after them for what they did?"

"We should return to Jasper to enjoy our peaceful future," Kate replied. "And not bother the rogues. I don't foresee them bothering us again after what happened here."


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a few weeks after Kate and Humphrey's family returned to Jasper Park with not only their three children but also Princess and Melissa. The two former rogues now had loving husbands. Princess had Runt and Melissa had Hutch, a beta wolf of the western pack.

But now, Kate and Humphrey were going through what was possibly both the saddest and happiest moment of their lives at the same time.

"Mom," Stinky was saying to them. "Dad, it's time we left the den for good to find our own dens to raise pups in."

Stinky's wife, a southern wolf called Mica, was heavy with pups. The same was true for Claudette, heavy with the pups of Fleet. Runt was now with Princess, but Magril had accepted that by saying she was happy for Runt since he was with someone he loved as a wife, and by finding a new true love. He was an eastern wolf called Liam, the nephew of Claws.

"Do you really have to leave us, kids?" Humphrey asked through tears. Kate was crying as well, but they were tears of joy for both of them.

Claudette had to laugh before she responded. "Unless you want a lot of puppies running around in your den as well as the three of us and our spouses," she chuckled with a smile.

"Oh, dear," Kate said, a bit humorously. "We're going to be grandparents, Humphrey. I feel old already!"

"You're not old, Mom," Stinky laughed.

"You'll visit when you can, kids?" Humphrey asked them.

"Of course," Runt answered for all three of them. "Once all of us get our dens set up and our puppies are old enough to move around, in Claudette and Mica's cases, we'll all come to visit you."

"So…this is goodbye?" Kate said with a mix of sadness and happiness. "For now?"

"This is goodbye for now," Stinky said. The three of them almost disliked leaving their parents' den as much as their parents disliked being left. But they had to for the well-being of their pups. A den shared with all of their siblings, their siblings' mates, and their pups would not leave enough room for their puppies. A new den for each of them was the best choice for their soon to come pups' well being.

"We'll all be sure to visit you with our pups as soon as we can, Mom and Dad," Claudette told them. And then the three siblings left their parents' dens to join their spouses in searches for new dens to start families of their own in.

Kate and Humphrey watched almost sadly, yet happily at the same time, from the cliffside just outside of their den as their children joined their spouses, seemed to say their goodbyes, and then went off in separate directions to search for dens.

"We'll never have pups running around our den again," Humphrey commented to Kate. He was a bit shocked over how their only little of children had just left the den. Runt, Claudette, and Stinky were finally truly growing up in life. "I'll miss having those three wolves waking up in our dens in the future."

What Humphrey said about puppies of their own running around their den reminded Kate of something important that she still had to bring up with Humphrey.

"Oh, by the way," Kate said cheerfully. "I'm pregnant."

Humphrey's eyes grew large and he yelped "What? When?" before fainting with surprise.

"Oh, Humphrey," Kate laughed at him before turning her head to watch the sunset on this beautiful spring day.

**The End**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> This won't be the end of my fanfics like this. After I finish the stories _Undead Park 4_ and _Day of the Dead_, I plan to write a fanfic that is a direct sequel to this, only is more like _Alpha and Omega 4: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave_ in tone and plot. It'll be more like a sequel to that, continue the plot involving Daria and the head wolf, only with a bit more of a supernatural plot like the movie had.


End file.
